DC increases restaurant wages. What does that mean for the rest of us?

More than a year after the experiment, the city — where foodservice, including a diverse collection of independent restaurants, is the third-largest sector of the local economy — remains torn. Trupti Patel, a waitress, said she received death threats for speaking out in support of the end of the tipped minimum wage, and continues to be harassed. Another server who voted for the change, Britt Lucas, said that even today she doesn’t speak to some people because they disagree on the issue.

It’s still unclear exactly how the restaurant industry will fare as the city slowly increases the tipped wage to the standard minimum wage by 2027. But after interviews with more than 25 owners, chefs, employees and diners, we can offer some insights into how the policy, known as Initiative 82, is working so far:

The food culture is not imploding.

In fact, the number of restaurants in Washington has grown to 3,472 last year, from 3,307 by 2022This is reported by the American Bureau of Labor Statistics. And new ones keep opening; according to Yelp, there were 283 job openings in 2023, up from 254 the year before.

But many owners still worry that if tip wages rise, the extra costs will put them out of business. Rick Allison, who runs several restaurants in the District, Virginia and Maryland, said the labor costs stuck with him King Street Oyster Barin Washington are up 12 percent from a year ago. He blames the initiative. On top of rising rents and inflation, the upcoming wage increases are unsustainable, he said.

“People are closing,” he said, adding, “My next restaurant is in Virginia.”

Chris Kennedy, co-owner of the bar Reliable tavern, views current challenges as short-term growing pains. “It will be a tough few years in DC, but we will find our way.”